rot in Biological News

Going bananas for sustainable research -- scientists create fuel from African crop waste

... 2 million tons are grown each year but the fruit is only a small percentage of what the plant produces. The rest skins, leaves and stems is left to rot as waste. Now scientists at The University of Nottingham are looking at ways to use that waste to produce fuel, developing simple methods of produc...

Genome sequencing of fungus with biotechnological applications

... it is reading them, deciphering what they are saying, identifying the genes and finding out how they work. Fungi with white rot, fungi with brown rot Trees are rich in cellulose and the sugar that forms part of the tree is mainly found in this polymer. However, unlike what happens with grapes t...

Rot's unique wood degrading machinery to be harnessed for better biofuels production

...ose (sugar) units can be unbound, broken down, fermented, and distilled into liquid transportation fuel. This is where the destructive capabilities of rot come in. "The microbial world represents a little explored yet bountiful resource for enzymes that can play a central role in the deconstruction of...

DOE Joint Genome Institute completes soybean genome

...erance and resistance to nematodes and diseases such as the water mold Phytophthora sojae, previously sequenced by DOE JGI, which causes stem and root rot of soybean. In 2007, soybean accounted for 56 percent of the world's oilseed production. James Specht, Professor at the University of Nebraska, s...

Scientists set out to measure how we perceive naturalness

...ful the range of applications would be huge. For instance, synthetic mahogany furniture that is indistinguishable from the natural material, but won't rot or be attacked by woodworm or artificial grass so good that they use it on Wimbledon's Centre Court." ...

US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute announces new genome sequencing projects

...ilamentous fungi has evolved with the ability to depolymerize lignin, the most recalcitrant component of plant cell walls. Collectively known as white rot fungi, they possess the unique ability to efficiently depolymerize lignin in order to gain access to cell wall carbohydrates for carbon and energy sou...

Lean and mean biomass-degrading fungus reveals capabilities for improved biofuel production

...el Cherry, director of research activities in second-generation biofuels for Novozymes, one of the collaborating institutions on the study. This soft rot fungus serves as the worlds most prodigious producer of cellulases and is already a dominant source of a wide variety of cellulase products for the te...

Ancient sunflower fuels debate about agriculture in the Americas

...chaeological sites. Second, climatic conditions, especially in the Neotropics, have bad properties of preservation for plant parts so most things just rot away. Finally, archaeological research strategies in many areas of Mesoamerica focus more on monumental architecture and less on agricultural developm...

Defining gene's role may lead to prevention of dangerous corn toxin

...Woloshuk said. When fusarium invades corn in the field, it causes an ear rot disease. Even knowing that ear rot is present doesn't help identify corn containing toxin because obvious sign...

Plant reflections may be key to early detection of treatment needs

...e way it reflects light. We can use this camera to detect stress at an earlier stage than by visual inspection. For instance, Nansen said, root rot is all underground, and generally plants are half dead when the damage becomes visible. But if you could see it earlier, you may have time to treat...

New research to help fight widespread potato disease

...nions, but is best known in temperate regions for causing blackleg and soft rot in potatoes. Its success partly lies in its ability to produce enzymes whic...e management as most varieties of potato have no inbuilt resistance to soft rot and there are no available pesticides." ...

Super-fermenting fungus genome sequenced

...pany, Xethanol Corporation, which plans to integrate Dr. Jeffries?findings into its large-scale biofuels production processes. Pichia joins white rot fungus in the growing portfolio of bioenergy-relevant fungus genomes sequenced by DOE JGI through its user programs and contributed freely to the worl...

Key found to kill cystic fibrosis superbug

... and highlighted in Nature Reviews/Microbiology. B. cenocepacia is a multi-drug resistant microorganism that lives in damp or wet places and causes rot in plants such as onions. While it rarely causes infection in healthy people, it can be fatal for people with cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited disea...

DNA technique measures suitability of soil for onion crops

...th the Laboratory for Nematology (University of Wageningen) the company Blgg has developed a molecular technique to detect the stem nematode and white rot in soil samples. Agricultural laboratory Blgg will start using the new system in November 2005. The system quickly and accurately measures soil sam...

Scientists determine structure of enzyme that disrupts bacterial virulence

...lished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The enzyme had already been shown in previous studies to significantly decrease soft rot in potato plants. The Brandeis and University of Texas team purified the enzyme and identified its structure using X-ray crystallography, an essentia...

Fungus-farming termites descend from an African rain forest Eve

...sed, transition to agriculture occurred in which termites domesticated a single lineage of fungi, represented today by the genus Termitomyces, a white rot fungus. These fungi are some of the few organisms that can digest the plant component lignin. Within the termite colonies, which can grow very large, ...

Experiment station researchers to explore genome of disease-fighting fungus

...t system." Finding unique genes involved in inducing plant resistance could also aid the greenhouse industry that encounters problems with seedling rot in different plant varieties. "In the nursery industry where you transplant from smaller to larger containers, you can incorporate the fungus as a ...

Researchers find gene that may be at root of potato blight

...was previously free of the disease. Agricultural problems caused by oomycetes don't stop with P. infestans. Related Phytophthora species cause root rot in soybean plants as well as sudden oak death, which is devastating stands of oak trees along California 's coast and is present in at least three oth...

Nature provides inspiration for important new adhesive

...nventional joists and beams in construction. Techniques have also been explored to create the new adhesives from tree bark or wood decayed by brown rot fungus. Regardless of the material used to produce the adhesives, they are renewable and may reduce the need for the currently used urea-formaldehyde ...